On October 25-27th, 2022, we brought together eCommerce experts from across the industry to discuss all things retention marketing at Yotpo Revolve, our first-ever Retention Marketing Summit.
For three exciting days, we discussed the urgent importance of retention for brands today. Speakers from top brands and technology agencies and providers shared their advice, insights, and strategies for navigating the shifting eCommerce landscape.
Want to watch the sessions back? Find them all here. Take a look below at the top highlights from Yotpo Revolve.
Day 1: The Foundations of Retention
During the first day of Revolve, we focused on understanding the groundwork required to build a retention strategy that lasts. We discussed the current state of eCommerce retention, how to rethink the buyer journey with a retention mindset, and the essential role that customer data plays in building relationships with your customers.
We also got a sneak peek into Barefaced Beauty’s retention strategy, and we learned why mission-driven marketing is so essential to creating connections.
Let’s take a look at some highlights:
Shopify on rethinking the buyer journey with a retention mindset:
“Acquisition often gets the sexier edit. It’s easier to see changes at the top of the funnel, and retention is sometimes exiled to email, post-conversion landing pages, push notifications. But we need to ask: why do we think that way? We really need to think instead about how acquisition feeds into retention, and vice versa.” — Shanelle Mullin, Experimentation & Analysis Lead, Shopify
Lunar Solar Group and Octane.ai on the role of customer data:
“Consumers are going to go to brands they have relationships with, and the way to build those relationships is to provide that personalized experience with the data you have.” — Ben Parr, President & Co-Founder, Octane.Ai
“When I think of a good retention strategy, I think of delivering an amazing customer experience.” — Tricia Yeonas, Associate Director, CRM, Lunar Solar Group
Barefaced Beauty on why their retention strategy works:
“We use text, reviews & UGC, and a loyalty program together, and our customer retention has been super strong. It’s cool to see the customer journey from a holistic perspective. Our customers can text us directly to speak with skincare specialists, and that’s provided a lot of marketing insights. Even seeing how customers speak about the products and their skin in their reviews helps us come full circle into our marketing material. All of our channels now work off of each other, and it’s allowed us to customize our messaging to each person. Sales are second, and serving the customer is first.” — Ashley Buckler, Brand Director, Barefaced Beauty
ShoppingGives and The Stable on the power of mission-driven marketing
“Climate change, environmental impact, and sustainability are becoming top priorities for shoppers. The next decade’s consumers won’t decide to buy based on product quality or price alone, but on sustainability and on a brand’s dedication to environmental action.” — Dulcie Hanham, Associate Director of D2C Strategy, The Stable
“When you speak about your mission, you want to be as consistent and authentic as possible. Customers have more access to information today, and they’re able to tell if you’re greenwashing. They can see the work you’re doing (0r not doing!) and they’ll be able to tell if you’re really mission-driven. Give your time to the causes that are most relevant and important to you and your customers.” — Savanah White, Head of Partner Success, ShoppingGives
Day 2: Retention Strategies
After diving into why retention is so important for eCommerce brands, we spent Day 2 focused on strategy-building. Retention isn’t one-size-fits-all, and it’s essential that brands learn how to build a retention strategy that fits their needs and their customers.
We learned the retention strategies of 10 leading brands and why they work, and we got two immersive crash courses, one focused on the power of leveraging SMS & email marketing together, and one on the steps to build a loyalty program that drives retention.
We also went behind the scenes into Bubble’s retention strategy, and we heard insights from leading brands on how they’re turning one-time shoppers into lasting advocates after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Let’s take a look at some highlights:
Bubble on creating a winning retention strategy:
“We’re really focused on bringing the customer journey full circle and keeping shoppers engaged through that journey on our website. We want them to not only take advantage of rewards and referrals, but to also take advantage of promotions and offers on our SMS channel, as well as leverage our reviews. We want to boost engagement, and in turn, boost retention.” — Emma Standing, Head of Customer Experience & eCommerce, Bubble
Experts from Summer Fridays, Upful Blends, Pinsy, and Evelyn & Bobbie on driving retention beyond BFCM:
“We know the holidays are a good time for acquisition, but buyers are easily distracted. Even if they didn’t purchase, or they only made one purchase, we can still leverage their email with automated, segmented email campaigns to ensure those buyers are educated and enticed to come back.” — Elizabeth Connell, eCommerce Program Manager, Evelyn & Bobbie
“We revamped our loyalty program before the BFCM holiday season. We were able to further incentivize them during this period, and we also learned a lot about our customers with the program. We gather information that helps us communicate with them, and we can then give them better updates, suggestions, and more.” — Staci Kurnit, VP, eCommerce & Digital Marketing, Summer Fridays
“We’ve been experimenting a lot. Do we promote products they love, or do we promote products that are different from what they’ve purchased before? People have a tendency to want to buy things they love in every color, but we have additional products that are better for certain occasions. So we’ve been experimenting with expansion during the holiday season.” Kelly Yau, Chief Marketing Officer, Pinsy Shapewear
“We’re really focused on making the customer feel special with surveys. We want to know ‘How was this experience for you? Where were you before you purchased, and how are you feeling now?’ We get to know what their journey has been like so far, and how we can support them going forward on every phase of that journey. We even funnel them to our mobile app where they can get extra savings and support, which creates an even more intimate connection.” — Chantel Robertson, CEO & Founder, Upful Blends
Day 3: Retention Optimization
On the final day of Yotpo Revolve, we focused on optimizing retention. With the right foundations and strategies, it’s essential to ensure brands can continue to iterate on their strategy to strengthen relationships over time. We discussed exactly what metrics to measure and track to drive retention and how to maximize customer lifetime value at every single marketing touchpoint.
We also discussed the value of customer experiences when it comes to retention, and we got a deep dive into how to build a multi-channel strategy. And, we got a behind-the-scenes look into The Turmeric Co.’s retention strategy.
Let’s take a look at some highlights:
Wpromote and LSKD on best practices for tracking and measuring retention:
“Retention is a long-term game. If you’re used to thinking month-over-month or total revenue numbers, investing in retention is going to be a medium-to-long-term payoff. It’ll take more resources than just activating new leads. It’s essential to get anchored in that long-term mindset and ensure, even up the ladder to leadership, that everyone knows that this is something you need to have patience for, but this is something that’s worth investing in because it’s going to pay off in the long-term.” — Riley Colestock, Associate Director, Email & Lifecycle Marketing, Wpromote
“The obvious metric for us is customer lifetime value, and branching under than is repeat purchase rate. We’re looking at things like AOV, time to next purchase (a really interesting one, especially when you consider your automation strategy!), and growth on additional channels. Every business is different, so CLTV can be measured differently based on your business strategy and goals.” — James Reu, eCommerce Manager, LSKD
Gorgias on the power of better customer experiences:
“When we think of a modern customer experience, the two most important ingredients that a best-in-class brand brings to their customers are personalization and speed — and speed is often the most important.” — Chris Lavoie, Tech Partnerships Lead, Gorgias
The Turmeric Co. on the thought process behind their retention strategy:
“We knew we wanted to build a better customer experience first and foremost. We wanted to be able to take them on a journey of using the products and changing their lifestyle while continuing to provide insights and optimize their health along the way. So, when it came to building a retention strategy, we needed to first really understand our customers, their real-life experiences, and then stitch everything we learned together to deliver a tailored customer experience for each and every person.” — Thomas Robson-Kanu, CEO & Founder, The Turmeric Co.
Justuno, Reconvert, and Limespot on optimizing CLTV at every touchpoint by leveraging personalization:
“I like to think of personalization as the merchant putting themselves in the shoes of the customer and really thinking about what barriers they face, what desires they have, and what brings them joy throughout the journey. Then, they can align their strategy with the expectations of the customer. Brands who do this well have happier customers, and because of that, those brands see more impact to their bottom line.” — Francis Pillon, Director of Sales, Limespot
“Personalization in eCommerce rings two bells in my head: segmentation — showing the right data, offers, products, etc in front of the right people at the right time through the use of conditions — and retention. People want to feel special and feel cared about. It’s an overall truth in life, and it rings just as true in the relationship between brand and consumer. — Ohad Michaeli, Head of Partnerships, Limespot LTD
“We really want to focus on how we can personalize the on-site experience, especially between visitors and customers. These are two different personas, one learning about your product and another that’s familiar with your product and is now using your services again. Ask them questions, show them you care — that kind of personalization improves the entire journey.” — Steph Carcamo, Manager, Customer Success & Support, Justuno
To see all of the sessions that took place at Yotpo Revolve, head over here. To learn how Yotpo can enable your brand to drive retention, speak to a specialist.